Not a throwaway day: Replacement medals presented to World War II veteran

Vet has medals replaced

Clyde Miller points to a photo of him and his three brothers, all of whom served in the U.S. Navy in World War II, while his nephew Dennis Hammond looks on.

David Blanchette | For the Telegraph

Marilyn Miller examines her husband Clyde’s World War II medals as he is congratulated in the background.

David Blanchette | For the Telegraph

The three World War II service medals presented to Clyde Miller on Saturday in Bethalto.

David Blanchette | For the Telegraph

Navy veteran Wayne Able of Alton VFW Post 1308 hands Clyde Miller his World War II service medals.

David Blanchette | For the Telegraph

BETHALTO — When Clyde Miller returned to the United States after serving in World War II, he did what many young Navy men did at that time.

“When they came into San Diego Bay, he and his fellow sailors tossed their medals overboard,” said Miller’s daughter, Judy Slimick of Bethalto. “They were young, they had seen a lot, and they were just anxious to get home and the medals just weren’t really important at that point.”

On Saturday, 73 years after her father’s medals went to the bottom of the ocean, Slimick and fellow family members and friends surprised the 92-year-old Miller with official replacement medals from the U.S. government. They included an Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal with three Bronze Stars, the Liberation of the Philippines Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal.

“It’s a big day for him,” said Slimick during the surprise reception at Cedarhurst Assisted Living Facility in Bethalto, where he now resides. “This is something he has regretted for a long time, and the older he has gotten, and especially after taking the Honor Flight in 2014, he just talked about it constantly.”

A big smile crossed Miller’s face when he was wheeled into the Cedarhurst reception area and he saw it filled with family and friends. The smile got even bigger when they presented him with replacements for his long-lost medals.

“Where have they been? At the bottom of the bay?” Miller joked.

“This is the greatest thing that ever happened to me in my lifetime,” Miller said. “I wish they could have invited some more of my good friends. I wish some of my friends who were killed in the war could be here today.”

Miller served in the U.S. Navy on a patrol boat from July 1943 to March 1946, leaving the service as a Seaman First Class. He and his crewmates escorted ships, patrolled harbors, and participated in many convoys. During his Navy service the boat was in eastern and western New Guinea, Leyte and the Palawan Islands in the Philippines, and Borneo.

Miller most remembers the date of Oct. 20, 1944 while he was stationed in Leyte. A Japanese plane was hit, caught fire and flew right over his boat. It was so close they could see the face of the pilot.

“You could see the determination on his face to take others with him if he was going to die,” Miller said. “He crashed his plane into an LCI (landing craft) in the harbor nearby.”

Miller also remembered what he was doing when the war ended.

“I had the midwatch when we were in Subic Bay (Philippines) when a guy woke me up and told me they had dropped the bomb,” Miller said.

Tossing the medals into the bay was just something that he and his shipmates didn’t give much thought about.

“I was just so glad to be home after 27 months and nine days,” Miller said.

But would he serve his country again? “I would absolutely do it again,” Miller said.

Miller’s niece, Kathleen Lipe of Bethalto, started the process of getting the replacement medals after hearing her uncle talk about them recently.

“Clyde expressed to us that he wished he had his medals, that it was a mistake what he had done, so we started searching for information,” Lipe said. “Then I remembered that he had taken an Honor Flight and his daughter Judy had all of the paperwork from the Honor Flight. And I thought that paperwork has to have some information for us.”

The paperwork listed the medals and stars that he had earned, so Lipe used that information to contact the Veterans Administration.

“I told them the medals weren’t lost in a fire or anything, and when I told them what happened they said ‘you’d be surprised how often we have heard that story,’” Lipe said. “I’m very proud of him, and to be able to do this for him is a great feeling.”

Miller worked at Olin Corporation in East Alton for 40 years, and former co-worker and U.S. Navy veteran David Heeren officially presented Miller with the medals on Saturday.

“I feel honored and grateful that I could do this for this man,” Heeren said. “He never talked about his service, some guys are private about that, but when they asked me to do it I didn’t hesitate a bit.”

“You had to be in their shoes to feel like they felt,” Heeren said. “War is not something you like to brag about, everybody does their thing, I lost my uncle in World War II.”

Miller’s wife of 43 years, Marilyn Miller, said the story of tossing the medals overboard doesn’t surprise her a bit.

“Oh yeah! There’s a lot of things he would do!” Marilyn Miller said. “He and his brothers knew and told so many stories it wasn’t funny. And the ornery things they did when they were younger. It was hilarious.”

Miller’s three brothers also served in the U.S. Navy during World War II.

“They were all in the Navy at the same time, and that ain’t easy for a mother and father to take, to have four sons gone,” Marilyn Miller said. “Today is fantastic. It means everything to him.”

Clyde Miller points to a photo of him and his three brothers, all of whom served in the U.S. Navy in World War II, while his nephew Dennis Hammond looks on.

http://www.thetelegraph.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_Medals-4.jpgClyde Miller points to a photo of him and his three brothers, all of whom served in the U.S. Navy in World War II, while his nephew Dennis Hammond looks on. David Blanchette | For the Telegraph

Marilyn Miller examines her husband Clyde’s World War II medals as he is congratulated in the background.

http://www.thetelegraph.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_Medals-3.jpgMarilyn Miller examines her husband Clyde’s World War II medals as he is congratulated in the background. David Blanchette | For the Telegraph

The three World War II service medals presented to Clyde Miller on Saturday in Bethalto.

http://www.thetelegraph.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_Medals-1.jpgThe three World War II service medals presented to Clyde Miller on Saturday in Bethalto. David Blanchette | For the Telegraph

Navy veteran Wayne Able of Alton VFW Post 1308 hands Clyde Miller his World War II service medals.

http://www.thetelegraph.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_Medals-2.jpgNavy veteran Wayne Able of Alton VFW Post 1308 hands Clyde Miller his World War II service medals. David Blanchette | For the Telegraph